Vodafone Ireland customers may see their bills rise by more than 11 per cent as the company implements an annual price hike to reflect inflation.
A total price hike of 11.2 per cent will be added to some mobile and fixed customer bills. This would reflecting the inflation rate recorded in December 2022, which was 8.2 per cent, plus 3 per cent. he additional 3 per cent increase previously signalled by Vodafone Ireland is to allow the company to continue investing in its network and services, the company says. This is in line with plans announced by the telecoms operator in July 2021, with the increases applied to the customer’s bill in April of each year.
The move will see an average of €5 per month added to mobile bills, with fixed line customers paying an additional €7 a month. For example, customers on Vodafone’s Red Unlimited Sim Only plan on a 12-month contract will see their monthly subscription costs rise by €3.92 a month, with customers signed up to the 1GB fibre broadband plan, which currently costs €70 a month, seeing a hike of €7.84 per month.
The price increases will not affect all customers, with around 50 per cent of mobile customers facing the higher charges, and only 5 per cent of the company’s fixed line customers.
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The hike does not apply to a number of services offered by the company, including prepay, 30-day SIM-only plans or business corporate plans. Customers who take out a new contract with the network will also see the standard price restored.
A spokesperson for Vodafone Ireland said the company was also dealing with the increased costs hitting other businesses, including higher energy costs.
Inflation in February was 8 per cent, up from the 7.8 per cent recorded in January.
“This is not a blanket price rise and price adjustment does not affect all customers. It applies to mobile Bill Pay customers who have contracted with us on a 12 or 24 month agreement since July 30th 2021 and fixed broadband customers who have contracted with us since January 31st 2023, including customers who carried out a recontract from those dates,” Vodafone Ireland said.
“Affected customers will be notified by SMS. Also, if a customer completes their contract period in the coming months and recommits to a new contract, they will go back to the standard price”.
Vodafone is planning to invest more than €400 million over the year and the next three years in its network, and plans to spend an extra €40 million in network deployment and upgrades on top of existing spending over the next three years.
